One of the biggest causes of deaths in the United States for children is drowning. Even if a child does not die, serious physical harm may occur from being in water for as little as three minutes. These accidents also result in significant medical expenses. The potential harm increases as more pools and water play areas, as well as decorative ponds and fountains, are built.
Some states require fences to surround pools or enclose an area around the water. The fences usually must satisfy specific requirements in terms of height and opening dimensions. A problem may occur when a child is able to open a gate within the fence and still access the water. This action may happen when the child is unattended, or a parent/guardian is distracted. Most children can do this in a matter of seconds. Once the gate is opened, the child can fall into the water extremely quickly, and maybe drowning before the parent/guardian notices the open gate.
Known systems use alarms to provide an audible alert that a child is within the enclosed area. These alarms also may startle the child to turn back and leave the pool area. A shortcoming of these audible alarm systems is that the child may still enter the enclosed area and fall into the pool while the alarm is sounding. Further, the audible alarm may malfunction or be ignored. An alarm is ignored if the parent/guardian is constantly getting up to check the pool area when a pet knocks the gate open. Even if the parent reacts quickly, the child may open the gate and fall into the water prior to the person getting to the pool.